Bicycle NSW said...It must be noted that Ray Rice, CEO of Bicycle NSW was misquoted in the Sydney Morning Herald. Bicycle NSW has consistently through the Committee process voiced our opposition to the fines and ID proposals. If you would like a quote from Ray Rice please read our CEO's letter to members for our position.

From that letter:

1/ A massive increase in some cycling fines, to bring them to equivalence with vehicle fines. Let us be very frank on this matter – Bicycle NSW have consistently, both in committee and publicly, voiced our opposition to this measure, and will continue to do so.

And:

2/ Bicycle riders must compulsorily carry photo ID. At Bicycle NSW we recognise that many riders already carry ID. We encourage this.However, we see that making it mandatory for those over 18 years old to carry photo ID (Drivers Licence or NSW Photo Card) as unnecessary and a possible disincentive for some people to ride.

Given this, I hope Bicycle NSW accepts my sincerest apologies:

That ought to teach me to believe anything I read in an Australian newspaper.

And while we're on the subject, it's worth noting that Australia is clearly in the grip of an insidious Fred cabal:

Anonymous said...It's not just the bicycling NSW dicks who are being real dicks about the Draconian new laws in New South Wales, there is also megadick Mark Textor who is a massive Fred and an infamous push polling exponent who has worked for many of the most obnoxious right wing nutjob parties in Australia, the U.K. and Canadia being an ultra dick about it.He heads the outfit that was pushing for the 1 metre pass law and he heralded the introduction of that law while completely ignoring all the other fascist new laws designed to suppress cycling here. Of course, he had to remain silent because it was cycling's favourite troglodyte, Duncan Gay, who introduced these laws and he comes from the same side of politics as Mark Textor.Textor is best known to the general public for tweeting that the Indonesian foreign minister resembles a Filipino porn star. Which may sound pretty harmless except this was at a time when he was a senior advisor to since deposed Prime Minister Tony Abbott (who is also a massive dick and Fred) at a time of very tense relations between Australia and Indonesia.He studiously avoided media exposure until he was ambushed on the grounds of Parliament house in Canberra one time:

We are obviously in big trouble here and we desperately need your help. Let's make a deal, if you help us out we won't highlight the fact that Textor is wearing a Brooks backpack in that video…

About 10 are in storage, including some ex-Tour de France Pinarellos, but Textor says the rest are mostly good to go, needing little more than fresh air in the tyres.

Yes, I can't stress this enough: if the air in your tires is more than three days old, MAKE SURE YOU SWAP IT OUT FOR FRESH AIR!

Oh, not only is he a massive Fred, but he's also a Recumbent Fred:One of his special interest is recumbents – the bike that looks like it's crossed with a La-Z-Boy chair."If you've got a long, open ride and you're by yourself, you're bonkers if you didn't ride a recumbent," he says. "You can go all day, and you're fatigued, but you're not hurting. That's why you get hooked on them. They're comfortable and they're bloody fast."

If long rides on an upright bicycle is "bonkers" then I guess that makes me Charles Manson:

Though to maximize the dork factor of your next recumbent ride you should also be sure to wear some smart glasses:

Until now bleeding-edge Freds who want to look at data instead of scenery have had to wear dedicated optical units, but thanks to Garmin's new Varia Vision that clips right onto your current shades you're now one crucial step closer to simply being able to slip a "smart suppository" right up your own ass:

Yes, thanks to Varia Vision you can now keep your focus forward:

Of course, you could have always kept your focus forward, but before now you wouldn't have been inundated by ride data:

Text messages:

Performance alerts:

And of course precise updates on the ecosystem forming inside your chamois:

It's also great for commuters:

Thanks to "Varia Radar:"

I had to look that one up, and it's basically just a "smart" helmet mirror:Getting Hit From Behind is Leading Cause of Cycling Fatalities in U.S.²The threat is real. That’s why getting some extra help knowing what’s sneaking up behind you is an important breakthrough. You already use caution and check over your shoulder, especially before making turns, but Varia radar gives you an important tool by watching behind you even when you aren’t.

Okay, so instead of getting run into a ditch you can now save drivers the trouble and steer yourself into it before they overtake you.

Lastly, Bono continues to have a sense of humor about his horrible bike crash:

Note 16. (Paragraph 95) When the American colonies were under British rule there were fewer and less effective legal guarantees of freedom than there were after the American Constitution went into effect, yet there was more personal freedom in pre-industrial America, both before and after the War of Independence, than there was after the Industrial Revolution took hold in this country. We quote from “Violence in America: Historical and Comparative Perspectives,” edited by Hugh Davis Graham and Ted Robert Gurr, Chapter 12 by Roger Lane, pages 476-478:

“The progressive heightening of standards of propriety, and with it the increasing reliance on official law enforcement (in 19th century America) ... were common to the whole society.... [T]he change in social behavior is so long term and so widespread as to suggest a connection with the most fundamental of contemporary social processes; that of industrial urbanization itself....”Massachusetts in 1835 had a population of some 660,940, 81 percent rural, overwhelmingly preindustrial and native born. It’s citizens were used to considerable personal freedom. Whether teamsters, farmers or artisans, they were all accustomed to setting their own schedules, and the nature of their work made them physically independent of each other.... Individual problems, sins or even crimes, were not generally cause for wider social concern....”But the impact of the twin movements to the city and to the factory, both just gathering force in 1835, had a progressive effect on personal behavior throughout the 19th century and into the 20th. The factory demanded regularity of behavior, a life governed by obedience to the rhythms of clock and calendar, the demands of foreman and supervisor. In the city or town, the needs of living in closely packed neighborhoods inhibited many actions previously unobjectionable. Both blue- and white-collar employees in larger establishments were mutually dependent on their fellows; as one man’s work fit into anther’s, so one man’s business was no longer his own.

“The results of the new organization of life and work were apparent by 1900, when some 76 percent of the 2,805,346 inhabitants of Massachusetts were classified as urbanites. Much violent or irregular behavior which had been tolerable in a casual, independent society was no longer acceptable in the more formalized, cooperative atmosphere of the later period.... The move to the cities had, in short, produced a more tractable, more socialized, more ‘civilized’ generation than its predecessors.”

Now that it's finally getting cold around here, I've replaced the air in my tires with the winter formula. It contains an extra percentage of soot from the wood burning stoves and hot air from the excess politicians we've been tolerating around here. It doesn't lessen my commuting time any, but it does add to the effort in reducing global warming.

TedK's fantasies consisted almost entirely of anal rape scenarios, which is why he was so eager to get himself thrown into prison so he could spend some quality time with a big, black cock shoved up his ass. As a result, he was unusually disappointed when he found out they were sending him to the supermax and that he would live out his term in almost total isolation. Nevertheless, he is spending his time in isolation trying to figure out if he can fuck himself in the ass.

Rain of truly biblical proportions fell yesterday in S. Cali.Bike Ride, only if you have wanted to be swept into a storm drain.Another big front on the way for later today.I wonder if Noah's Ark will float by?

I think these new glasses will be a boon to safe riding. Add these new techies to the assholes wearing earbuds and now there will even more riders that I can blow right by on the bike path without being noticed until I'm passed them. Silly little bells and shouting "On your left" just spook the average rider and makes them unpredictable.

P. Bateman - Not racist or sizist, per se. I merely heard that TedK was into black dudes and that he likes it BIG. If he weren't into the biggies, he could have just gotten his his jollies by shoving pencils up his ass (which he did a lot of while he was living in that cabin in the woods, but he ultimately decided that something with a bit more girth and a lot more throb was going to be necessary).

I finally figured out what bothers me so much about the picture of the duder wearing smart glasses (beyond him wearing smart glasses) - he is on a bike and looks like he is having absolutely zero fun. Even roadies and tri dorks have more fun than he looks like he is having!

PB 1249 "VaginaVision" Get it up on Kickstarter before the right wing militia occupying the NWR in Oregon scatters, undoubtably they'll all contribute if you can connect with the hateful eight while their all cooped up in a cabin together.

Hello again, it's the same "anonymous" from yesterday who has had their comments regurgitated by a lazy Snobby today. Copy and paste a pretty sweet way to fill out those column inches, for sure, makes Snobby all the more loveable.

Anyway, I just dropped by again to suggest you not be too apologetic to Bicycling NSW. They are bunch of self promoting hucksters who are not representative of the broader New South Wales cycling community and who are increasingly alienating their declining membership with their impotent advocacy.

They fraternise with the enemy and the last thing you'd associate them with is opposing the Draconian measures steadily being introduced by the New South Wales government's resident evil ogre, Duncan Gay.

Indeed, the most vocal they've been on this issue since they were "misquoted" has been "correcting the record" here in the Snobby comments yesterday. And curiously, they seem to have taken it rather personally, more concerned about personal reputations than the greater issue, I mean, why exert all this energy on a minor inaccuracy in far away Snobbystan while doing absolutely nothing in the belly of the New South Wales beast where the war will be won or lost? But almost certainly lost with ineffectual dicks like bicycle NSW leading the charge.

Disclaimer: I am not a member of or affiliated to any cycling organisation, club or association or a political institution of any description etc; I think everyone and everything is shit, therefore you can be certain my comments are impartial and unimpeachable.

I will confirm that Anonymous is pretty much right in his comment above about Bicycle NSW. I also think Snob should retract his apology.

I think it strange that Rice/BNSW would even bother to claim he was 'misquoted' to a blog on the other side of the world. He/they are also not very clear about what was misquoted. I assume it was this comment originally from the Sydney Morning Herald:

"The increased fines and requirement for identification, Mr Rice said, would not have a huge affect on cyclists as 90 per cent already carried identification and 70 per cent already wore helmets."

(a comment that I find repugnant for its callous disregard of 30% of cyclists who don't wear helmets – soon liable for a 450% increase in fine to AUD$319 – thats US$223 at current exchange rates).

Thing is, the Sydney Morning Herald is a long-running respected newspaper and they have not published a retraction. BNSW have not claimed a misquote on their own website or anywhere else than in their letter to Snob. So I call shenanigans.

Their claim they have been consistent in regard to these rule changes and fine increases is also bullshit. The first public comment they released on the 21st was "“Bicycle NSW agrees that safer roads is the joint responsibility of all road users. However, if fines are to be raised to such a high level, then bike riders need to be treated fairly in terms of road design,” said Mr Rice." Ok, sounds like you accept the fine increases then... it was only on the 22nd when the backlash hit that Rice used stronger words against the fine increases.

But, I would love it if BNSW gets their act together and does maintain an defence against Duncan Gay our Roads Minister and these idiotic changes. They at least have had a wishy washy, occasionally neutral position on the helmet law. Their competitor Bicycle Network – a Victorian advocacy group trying to expand into NSW and grab those mass-ride dollars and funding from state and motoring bodies – is aggressively pro mandatory helmet law. Our other advocacy groups, like Mark Textor's Amy Gillet Foundations, involved in these changes are just as bad in that they have positions that only serve sports/recreational cyclists.

The bicycle advocacy in Australia its absolutely fucking toxic, just as bad as our modal share and road culture.

About Me

While I love cycling and embrace it in all its forms, I'm also extremely critical. So I present to you my venting for your amusement and betterment. No offense meant to the critiqued. Always keep riding!